A blog for HIV negative women that have HIV positive spouses and would like support around this issue.

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

All-American Truvada Family

My husband and I are thinking about having another baby. So, I will need to find a doctor to prescribe me Truvada. But this has got me thinking....do I want to start PrEP indefinitely regardless of if we're trying to get pregnant?

I don't know. I keep going back and forth between Me on Truvada, and Me Without Truvada.

Me on Truvada: I think I'd feel uneasy about using Truvada alone for HIV prevention purposes. And I'm not sure how my husband would feel about it....probably more uneasy than me. We have both felt very safe and secure using condoms...and we've been very responsible to use condoms since Day One.

Me on Truvada: The thought of not having to use condoms....how amazing that would be! There have been times we weren't able to have sex because we were out of condoms, or couldn't afford condoms. They aren't cheap you know. (I know we can get them for free but I usually don't feel like asking, and I don't get to pick my favorite models and brands--and there's usually someone holding out a basket watching me pick through the pile...its just not ideal) But thinking of the new level of intimacy...without a condom between us is so tantalizing. We could just be "in the moment," have sex with more spontaneity and romance...I know they say you can make applying a condom part of the foreplay but who are we kidding, applying a condom takes away from the moment.

Me on Truvada: What joy to think about a surprise positive pregnancy test, 9 months of preparing for baby (and hoping for a boy this time), labor and delivery...another little baby. So sweet and such another little miracle. With both of us on Truvada (my husband currently takes it as part of his regimen), and two babies conceived using Truvada...we'd be the All-American Truvada Family!

Me Without Truvada. Condom use is much safer for me in terms of medical side effects and additional toxins in my system.

Me Without Truvada: We wouldn't have to get his lab work done monthly...not an easy thing to schedule with a full-time job and toddler, and not an easy thing to pay for either.

For now I think I'll just try to find a doctor that will prescribe it for me and go from there....we don't have to decide right now. Stay tuned!